Q&A
- Fremantle College
- Activ Foundation site
- Davis Park precinct
- Former South Metropolitan TAFE
- Former Lefroy Road Quarry
- City of Fremantle
- Department for Communities (Housing)
- Fremantle College
- Department of Education
- Department for Planning, Lands and Heritage
- Development WA (previously LandCorp)
- Activ Foundation
- Main Roads WA
- Incorporates a ‘green link’ running from north to south through the masterplan area.
- Includes existing and new areas for outdoor active recreation, to provide for current and future community needs.
- Recognises the importance of South Street as a strategic transport link, and the potential for further development along it once upgraded.
- Incorporates upgraded ‘active transport’ links (walking and cycling) to connect areas of open space with schools and other community facilities.
- Maintains retail around the existing shops on South Street (as well as those on Lefroy Road), and shows the potential for further development of this centre.
- Accommodates for the redevelopment of the Davis Park precinct and introduction of a greater diversity of housing throughout the masterplan area.
- Provides for redevelopment of the Lefroy Road TAFE site, potentially enabling expansion of community facilities such as childcare on Lefroy Road.
- Retains Fremantle College, acknowledging the community and educational focus this provides, as well as the opportunity to improve traffic management around it.
- Provides for redevelopment of the Lefroy Road Quarry site and allowing for north-south movement (vehicles and pedestrians) through the site.
- Provides for redevelopment of lots south of the quarry including the Portuguese Club site and industrial sites on Clontarf Road.
- Retains Activ Foundation in their current location.
- 12 Working Group meetings including a walking tour of the Heart of Beaconsfield site
- 2 open days where community members could attend and share ideas
- A community visioning workshop attended by nearly 100 participants
- A concept design workshop attended by close to 80 participants
- Two online surveys through My Say Freo
- A landowner workshop where representatives from all landowner organisations agreed on the final concept plan option
- Meetings with key stakeholders
- Tree retention and open space provision;
- Sense of place and community facilities, including movement and connections; and
- Housing choice and diversity of population.
- Trees play an important role in contributing to the character and walkability of the suburb.
- Areas of open space are important assets for the community; they should be retained and enhanced for future generations.
- Stronger and safer connections are needed to link areas of open space with other community facilities and established residential areas.
- North-south green link is identified which seeks to connect areas of open space and enhance tree canopy within the master plan area.
- Pedestrian links are identified that provide opportunity for further connections from north (South Street) to south (Clontarf Road) as well as east and west.
- Areas for outdoor active recreation are retained (e.g. Bruce Lee Reserve), and a new sporting oval is proposed to the north of the Lefroy Road Quarry site to provide for future projected recreation needs.
- Davis Park open space is to be retained and expanded.
- Expanded area of passive open space identified within the Lefroy Road Quarry site, integrated with the green link through to the Wool Agency site to the south.
- Concentrations of existing tree canopy have been identified on the plan.
- There is a strong sense of place and resilience in the community that gives it a unique identity, this should be retained and enhanced into the future.
- There should be more places for the community to meet, including parks, community facilities, shops and cafes, and the ability to be able to walk or cycle to these places.
- The suburb is closely located to Fremantle and the beach, adding to its sense of place.
- There is a negative perception of safety within some parts of the suburb.
- Existing community facilities (e.g. Child Care, Fremantle College) are retained in conjunction with improvements to connectivity and surrounding open space.
- Areas for mixed / community use and development are identified along South Street and Lefroy Road to provide focal points for the suburb, which could act as important meeting places for the local community. Ways of connecting these areas to the surrounding suburb are also identified.
- Opportunities for enhanced tree canopy through defined ‘green links’ connecting the site from north to south, along with additional areas of active and passive open space.
- The plan recognises the location of the suburb and aims to establish improved connections to the beach, Booyeembara Park and central Fremantle.
- The plan acknowledges the surrounding context that includes smaller shops, parks and schools, and aims to facilitate improved connections to these through various modal options.
- Pedestrian connectivity improvements, combined with staged redevelopment of key sites (e.g. Davis Park), will provide opportunities to improve the perception of safety within the suburb.
- Improved passive surveillance and lighting in new development should also contribute to improved security.
- Changes to densities and building typologies to meet changing community needs are concentrated internally, with managed transition at the interface, allowing retention of the broader established character and sense of place in established residential areas.
- The population of Beaconsfield is diverse, with several demographics represented, and housing in the suburb should be representative of this.
- There is a strong desire for many in the community to remain in the suburb long term, housing options should reflect this.
- New development should respect the established character of the area.
- The plan seeks to accommodate different ‘typologies’ of housing within Beaconsfield, including:
- High rise apartments 8+ storeys
- Medium rise apartments 5-8 storeys
- Low rise apartments 3-5 storeys
- Townhouses and maisonettes 2-3 storeys
- Family houses 1-2 storeys
- Opportunities to explore alternative or more affordable forms of housing, particularly within the Davis Park Precinct Structure Plan area.
- Careful consideration has been given to existing built form and ensuring that new development provides a transition to the established scale and character of Beaconsfield. This also enables a mixture of dwelling types to be provided throughout the master plan area, ensuring that one single dwelling type doesn’t prevail over another in any one area/precinct.
- Reclassify cells within the quarry site from ‘A’ (‘8 storeys or above’) to ‘C’ (3-5 stories) or ‘D’ (2-3 stories). These heights (if pursued) are considered appropriate given the 11-15 metre height of the western escarpment.
- Downgrade cells within the old TAFE site previously shown as ‘B’ (6-8 storeys) to ‘C’ typology.
- South Street mixed use zone identified as ‘B’ housing typology to provide clarity and reflect Davis Park Structure Plan.
- Change the housing typology along the western escarpment of the quarry site from ‘D’ to ‘E’ (single family homes), to reflect the classification of this land under the existing Lefroy Road Quarry local structure plan. A note is also proposed to indicate residential development in this location is subject to further site investigations (recognising both the geotechnical and feasibility challenges this area presents).
- Change the description of the ‘A’ housing typology to specify buildings ‘up to 8-12 storeys in height’, as opposed to ‘8+ storeys’ to remove ambiguity and provide more certainty with regard to maximum building heights anticipated.
- Greater emphasis on east-west pedestrian and vehicle links noted in various locations.
- Retention of traffic signals on South Street with ‘possible future traffic signals– subject to the approval of Main Roads WA’, reflecting recent decision from WAPC in respect to Davis Park Structure Plan.
- Opportunities for additional parking more clearly identified throughout masterplan including adjacent to both sporting ovals and within the Fremantle College site.
- Inclusion of east-west pedestrian connection from quarry to Longford Road via the existing pedestrian access way in the Salentina Ridge subdivision, reflective of the current approved structure plan.
- Moving tenants to more appropriate accommodation in surrounding areas that are close to their networks.
- Creating a new community through the redevelopment of land owned by the Department of Communities in Beaconsfield with more new homes and diversity of housing options.
- Offering a wider range of shared equity and affordable housing options for Western Australians looking to purchase a new home.
What is a masterplan?
A masterplan is usually made up of a spatial plan and supporting information. It is a strategic document that takes input and information such as community aspirations, population, housing, transport, connections, facilities, land use and site characteristics to develop a vision for the future of an area. While it is not a statutory (legal) document and cannot be used to formally assess development, it can guide how an area may develop / redevelop in the future to inform further detailed structure planning and development proposals.
What is the Heart of Beaconsfield project?
There are a number of changes planned for the suburb of Beaconsfield. The City of Fremantle and its project partners want to ensure that when these changes happen, they occur in a coordinated way.
The aim of the Heart of Beaconsfield project is to create an over-arching masterplan that will help to guide and connect plans for development on the various different sites in Beaconsfield, such as the Davis Park precinct, the former Lefroy Road Quarry and the old TAFE site.
Where is the Heart of Beaconsfield?
The plan covers an area of approximately 48 hectares and extends from South Street in the north to Clontarf Road in the south.
It includes five major areas of review:
To achieve an integrated planning approach across these areas the following key landowners and users have partnered in the project:
Private landowners within the masterplan area have been consulted at various stages during its development.
What are the key features of the draft masterplan?
The masterplan incorporates ideas provided by community members during the two stage engagement process.
Some of the key features of the plan are outlined below:
The plan itself is accompanied by a series of ideas pages which provide some further details and conceptual illustrations on specific elements – open and green spaces, housing types and transport links (movement).
What is ‘mixed community use’ on the plan?
The areas marked as ‘mixed / community use’ highlight locations which would be suitable for uses other than residential dwellings (one is located on an important transport corridor and the other in the ‘social heart’ location). The type of uses that could be considered in these locations are community facilities and retail.
What community engagement has already taken place?
There have been two stages to engagement.
Stage one
In 2017/ 2018 the City worked with Creating Communities to conduct a comprehensive engagement and communication process, informing and seeking feedback from community members and stakeholders on a vision and masterplan for the site.
The process involved:
Some of the key priorities from the community visioning workshop have been captured below:
The Heart of Beaconsfield - visioning outcomes 2017/18.
To find out more about the process, you can download the engagement report here or via the document library.
Stage two
In early 2021 the draft plan was presented to the community for feedback. To view the outcomes of this process, you can view the engagement report here.
Engagement methods used were online submissions on My Say Freo and a pop up 'Talk to a Planner' session at the Freo Farmers Market.
82 submissions were received and reviewed. A significant number of submissions (about half) raised building height and residential density as a concern, particularly in regard to the quarry and old TAFE sites. In response to these concerns the revised plan proposed some reduction to both building heights and density to a more moderate/balanced level.
We also received many comments about community and recreation facilities, traffic and connectivity, and green spaces. Some of the comments received will also be considered as part of the development of the Community Sport and Recreation Facilities Plan 2021-31.
What has the City done with the community input?
What has the City done with the community input?
Feedback received from the community has been fundamental in establishing the direction for the masterplan and underpinning key elements. The key outcomes of the previous community engagement exercises can be broken up into three broad themes:
With this in mind, the masterplan responds to these themes as follows.
Tree retention and open space provision | |
Key Ideas | |
How the Plan Responds | |
Sense of place and community facilities (including movement and connections) | |
Key Ideas | |
How the Plan Responds | A lot of these ideas can be addressed by improving movement and connectivity throughout the area. The plan has a strong focus on retaining and enhancing areas of open space, as well as connecting these through improved linkages from north to south, as noted above. |
Housing choice and diversity of population | |
Key Ideas | |
How the Plan Responds | |
Further changes were also made to the plan resulting from the recent community consultation on the draft masterplan, undertaken in 2021. This included the following modifications:
The final masterplan was adopted by Council in April 2021, and is available to view on this page.
What feasibility work was undertaken between 2018 and 2020?
One of the ideas we received was replacing Bruce Lee Oval with new and improved sporting facilities on the Lefroy Road Quarry site.
Between 2018 and 2020, the City undertook feasibility work to determine the benefits of this option. The quarry site on Lefroy Road is currently vacant and is a classified contaminated site. Using the site for a new, improved oval was seen as a potentially good opportunity to convert an under-utilised site into a new community asset, that also responds to the projected future recreation needs of the local community. Other benefits of providing a sporting oval on the Quarry site include improved pedestrian and cycle connections, and the ability for this oval to form part of the strategic ‘green link’ through the Heart of Beaconsfield masterplan area.
The work was completed in September 2020 and found that there is a longer-term (approximately 20 year) need to provide additional recreation space to support projected population growth. As such, the masterplan shows the retention of Bruce Lee Oval, as well as provision of a new full-size sports oval on the Quarry site.
Some funding opportunities to support the delivery of the new oval have been identified within the masterplan area, and are reflected on the revised draft. These include the developable land within the Lefroy Road Quarry structure plan area, as well as some of the land currently used for parking immediately north of the Lefroy Road TAFE site, abutting Bruce Lee Oval. The masterplan also shows a revised configuration of residential development within the Quarry, in response to the provision of a new sporting oval on the site.
What is the role of the working group?
The purpose of the Heart of Beaconsfield Working Group has been to provide an avenue for the various project stakeholders (listed above) to oversee and provide input on the development of the master plan.
The working group comprises members of the City of Fremantle (staff and elected representatives), Activ Foundation, various State Government Departments, Fremantle College and key landowners within the master plan area. The group have been meeting on a regular basis since the inception of this project and will seek to continue this collaboration as detailed development of land progresses into the future.
Notwithstanding the above, the working group is not a statutory (legal) decision-making group. Decisions to develop land within the master plan area will be pursued by the relevant landowners who will obtain relevant approvals in due course, and formal endorsement of a final master plan will ultimately be made by the City of Fremantle Council.
Why is the Department of Communities planning a redevelopment of the Davis Park precinct?
The Department of Communities land in Beaconsfield offers an opportunity to create an integrated sustainable community within close proximity to Fremantle and the Perth CBD.
The Department has been coordinating this redevelopment, along with other similar projects in Bentley and Joondalup. The Department’s focus is to provide better communities throughout Western Australia through urban regeneration initiatives that decentralise large pockets of social housing and offer a range of affordable housing options. These options might include new home opportunities for down-sizers, seniors, first homebuyers, public housing tenants and families.
What is the status of the redevelopment of the Davis Park precinct?
In September 2016, Fremantle council approved an amendment to the City's local planning scheme to change the zoning of the Davis Park precinct to 'development zone'.
Changing the zoning of the Davis Park precinct to ‘development zone’ was the first step in the planning process and anticipates the need for future redevelopment but prevents piecemeal development until an overall plan (a structure plan) has been completed.
The Department of Communities, through planning consultants Urbis, submitted a structure plan to the City of Fremantle for assessment in April 2019. The main purpose of this plan is to provide the town planning rules to guide the future redevelopment of the precinct. After a lengthy assessment process, the structure plan was recommended for approval subject to modifications by the City of Fremantle Council in May 2020. This recommendation was subsequently forwarded to the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) who will undertake a final assessment and decide whether or not to approve it.
A decision on the structure plan from the WAPC is anticipated in the first quarter of 2021. The My Say Freo page will be updated with the very latest information on this project as it comes to hand.
Will existing public housing tenants have to relocate?
Over time, public housing tenants will be asked to relocate to enable regeneration of the area to commence. Some demolition works have already been undertaken within the precinct.
However, full redevelopment of the precinct is not expected for a number of years. Tenants will be involved in choosing where they can move to and the Department of Communities will engage with them to discuss their options at an appropriate time in the future.
The Department plans to reduce its presence in the area through a variety of approaches. These approaches include:
These approaches have been adopted to ensure there is minimal impact on public housing tenants and the wider community. The Department of Communities regularly undertakes relocations through the state as part of its tenancy/property management services. The ongoing engagement with public housing tenants and the community is important to the Department.
What is proposed for the old TAFE site?
The TAFE site is now permanently closed and the site is being managed by Department of Communities. Replacement facilities for the TAFE were developed at the Murdoch University Health and Knowledge Precinct, which includes opportunities for students to pursue animal studies, laboratory work, horticulture and nursing, among other fields of study.
It is anticipated that the TAFE site will be redeveloped largely for residential purposes. The draft masterplan shows the TAFE site as potentially containing a mixture of new housing types from medium-rise apartments to low-scale family homes, as well as incorporating a strategic ‘green link’ and community facilities.